Ecuador’s Constitutional Court last month rejected a petition by the local tuna fishing industry challenging a key conservation law that governs the Galápagos Islands. The Association of Tuna Fishermen of Ecuador (Atunec) had asked the high court to allow its members to fish within the 51,000-square-mile (133,000-sq-km) Galápagos Marine Reserve, where commercial fishing is prohibited. Its petition was rejected in an 8-1 vote, with one abstention. Though the ruling cannot be appealed, Atunec President Bernardo Buehs says his organization will continue to press for the right to fish within the reserve along the western coast of the islands of Isabela and Fernandina. The association questions the authority of Galápagos National Park officials to restrict fishing of a species that is not... [Log in to read more]